Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Acting Prime Minister. Before the last election the Prime Minister promised to create a million new jobs. Given that unemployment is at a 10-year high and his government has done nothing to save thousands of jobs at Toyota, Holden, Alcoa, Electrolux and Rio at Gove, will the Acting Prime Minister, at least, rule out using taxpayer funds to bankroll the Palmer piggybank?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, the presumptions made by the Leader of the Opposition in his question are wrong. One hundred thousand jobs have been created since we have been in office.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton!

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That compares with an increase of 200,000 unemployed under Labor. So we know we still have a long way to go. There are a lot more jobs that need to be created in this country. To do that, we need a strong and productive economy. That is why we are investing in infrastructure. That is why we have an economic plan for the future to help ensure that our economy is strong and we can therefore create the jobs that are going to be necessary to support our community in the years ahead. The reality is that we are getting on with the job. Progress has been made but there is still a distance to go. However, we are achieving employment growth and we want that to continue into the future. Since the premise of the question from the Leader of the Opposition is completely wrong, the substance of the question is not worth answering.